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Diaspora Jews-from Inquisition

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Yael Amato
Yael Amato is an Italian violinist who has worked with such major musicians as Tibor Varga, Igor Oistrach, Emanuel Hurwitz,
… [More]Eiluned Davies and Beatrice Antonioni. As a soloist she has performed in Europe and Italy in the most renowned concert halls, recording for Italian National Radio and TV, Radio Suisse Romande and BBC. She led the Martucci Orchestra at the age of seventeen and the following year became leader of the Martucci Piano Trio, and first violin in the early music ensemble Cappella della Pietà de' Turchini led by Antonio Florio. She was assistant to the late Italian Concert Violinist Beatrice Antonioni at Cava de Tirreni Masterclass, with whom she started the Sirenide Project promoting the Ensemble Sirenide and Zelter Ensembles.[1] In October 2009 she played for the commemoration concert leading and conducting the Camerata Zelter with the participation of the brother Giovanni Antonioni . Promoter of modern and inedited Composers from 2006 started research-based performance with a series of concerts with Zelter Trio and Zelter Quartet, and Sefarad Trio with whom is active on a research on Jewish Music with particular interest on Sefardi-Ladino Music as well as Classical Jewish Composers, like Bloch, Perlmann, Bruch and Goodman [Less]

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Inquisition in 1492 was not the best human image. However nothing can recall this period of history if not just the rediscovery of the history itself. Researching on Arts and Music of that itself period could be the only clear example of what exactly was the meaning of Diaspora. Each historical time reflects its own period, and artists always see with contemporary eyes and only recall the past when they want to reinforce a modern concept not certainly to recall it back as when it occurred. We could read Dante Alighieri but never live in the time when he wrote the “Divina Commedia” and to understand it we need to read it, not to recall it with some other works. This is one of the major issue: to understand Diaspora should we do a real research of life in that time or could we just imagine how Diaspora could have been now days? Do we need to make a political choice or just be honest and follow truly what was the real historical grounds which caused Diaspora? If so we would need to restart and think what caused Diaspora and who were the Jews who had been expelled particularly after Inquisition times. The major exodus of Jews occurred in the Iberian Peninsula, and these Jews were Sefardim, a tradition which has been cancelled just after these prosecutions and never really recuperated. Leone Da Modena one major exponent of this important school was followed by many scholars who made the history of Judaism from Spain to the Mediterranean Countries, including Naples Reign of Two Sicilies, Izmir and Rodes. Their survival after Inquisition both as Sefardi Jews emigrated to Americas, from Cristoforo Colombo onward till the 1900th, or as Anusim or Marranos, up to nowdays, we can only reconnect with this history by becoming close to it: for the Iberian Jews of Inquisition times we may reconnect by rediscovering the culture and the Sefardi traditions of the time, for Anusim we may only bring to light the traditions which they maintained as Sefardi-Crypto-Jews. Much speculation is often done to use this issue in order to promote political matters which have no connection with the real Diaspora history.

Rabbis and politicians should really reflect on these matters. We would need instead more generous and heartful means to understand the tragedy occurred and there is no time for speculation and politics, as living in a time where political and economical matters dictate so much on people’s life, could only bring a new Diaspora back on the stage.

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